


Bad Texture

by DianaandAlicia



Series: SPD Stories [1]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alicia is understanding and comforting, Althea has a sensory processing disorder, F/F, John and June have small dialogues, The other characters only are mentioned, This is mostly Alicia and Althea, but other than that it's just Al and Alicia, disability slurs are mentioned, picky eating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 22:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16690447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaandAlicia/pseuds/DianaandAlicia
Summary: Creamed corn is a bad texture and there is absolutely nothing that will convince Althea otherwise.





	Bad Texture

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all! I know it's been awhile but I've been busy with school and such. I just wanted to say that this story is very personal to me because essentially Althea is me. A lot of the experiences that she goes through in this story are things that I go through on the daily. I decided to write this story because I wanted something where a character that I like is like me. Althea will seem very out of character in this but that's supposed to be intended. I am very nervous about posting something so personal so please be nice. Thank you ahead of time for reading, I hope you enjoy it!

“No.”

“Althea, it’s good for you.”

“No. I don’t want it!” Al grumbled, crossing her arms and staring at her plate.

“Come on, I’ll even warm it up for you.” John offered.

Althea shook her head, wishing Alicia was back. The younger girl had gone with Morgan, Wendall, Sarah, and Victor on a run, leaving Althea, Charlie, John, June, and Luciana at the denim factory that they called home. So far, they found a few people on Althea’s tapes alive but nobody that they found wanted to come join the community that they were trying to establish. They had already found places of their own but that didn’t stop Morgan from hoping.

They found some seeds in one of the storage rooms at the factory and had a garden planted, but it would be a few weeks yet before anything would be ready to pick. For right now, the group’s food supply was coming from canned food that they found, along with animals that they hunted and fish from a nearby river.

John had made some fish that night, with canned creamed corn as the vegetable. The fish Althea could eat with no problem. The creamed corn however, was starting to cause some issues.

Althea hated creamed corn. The taste was ok, but the texture made the journalist want to die. Ever since she was little, she had what her doctor called a sensory processing disorder. Althea always had heightened senses, especially when it came to touch. Whether it’s food or clothing or anything else really, Althea always has had certain textures that were ok and ones that were not ok.

Althea had ways to cope with this, and stimming was one of them. Since all of her senses had an equal opportunity to overwhelm her at times, sometimes flapping her hands, petting a blanket, or doing verbal stims helped her get through a sensory overload.

The biggest problem right now was that Alicia was the only one who knew that Althea had a sensory processing disorder. The two were dating now, and Althea told Alicia after the younger girl saw her flapping her hands one night before bed.

Since nobody else knew, she was stuck at the table with cold creamed corn on her plate, with John trying to coax her into eating it.

June was standing at the sink behind him, washing the dishes, and Luciana and Charlie already finished eating and were off somewhere in the factory having time to themselves.

“Think of the example you’re setting for Charlie. Stop acting so childish.” John said sternly, causing Althea to blush scarlet. She hated how just because she didn’t want to eat the corn on her plate, John felt that it gave him the right to treat her like a child.

Eventually, John gave up. Althea’s been sitting at the table for forty-five minutes and he was tired of trying to convince her to eat the vegetable. June was also getting tired of waiting for Al’s plate to wash. After John left the table, June was silent for a minute before sitting down at the table with Althea.

“We don’t waste food here. Just think about how many people you interviewed. Some of them could be alive and hungry. Some would kill just to eat that vegetable. You’re not allowed to get up from this table until every kernel of corn is gone.”

With that, June got up and left Althea alone.

Once she was in the clear, Al immediately started to flap her hands and give her plate a death glare. She sat like that for about a half hour and paused when she heard the factory door open downstairs. She smiled when she heard the familiar sound of Alicia laughing at one of Morgan’s jokes and her smile grew the more Alicia laughed.

Alicia's laugh sounded like a chorus of bells, in Althea’s opinion, and it was one of the most beautiful things that she’s ever heard. Al’s smile vanished however, when she heard Alicia climb the stairs and make her way into the kitchen area.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Alicia asked, coming up to sit by her girlfriend. “Everyone finished eating over an hour ago, Love.”

“June said I can’t leave the table until all the food is gone.” Althea huffed.

“She did? Althea, you’re an adult. You can get up and leave when you want too.”

“John said it was childish for me to waste food.”

“Well, that may be true to a point. But, if my memory serves me correctly, creamed corn is a bad texture for you, am I right?”

Althea nodded and Alicia continued.

“If something is uncomfortable for you to eat, you don’t have to eat it. I’d never force you to eat something that you don’t like or can’t stand. I don’t mind creamed corn, so I’m gonna warm it up and eat it for you so it isn’t wasted.”

“Oh, thank you Alicia, thank you.” Althea breathed, relieved that she didn’t have to eat the corn.

“There is something that you have to do for me Al.”

“What?”

“You need to tell everyone about your sensory stuff. You need to explain that part of yourself to everyone else. It isn’t fair if they don’t know. June and John just think right now that you were being a picky eater tonight just because. They need to know that there are some foods out there that you cannot tolerate. John and June grew up in a generation where children were expected to eat what was put in front of them with no complaints. They passed that expectation on to you even though you are a grown woman and you need to explain to them, and everyone else, that you won’t allow that anymore. Can you promise me that?”

“Yes. Alicia. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Baby.” Alicia said, getting up and putting the plate in the microwave. Once the food was warmed up, Alicia sat down and started to eat it.

“Alicia?”

“Yeah?”

“What if they don’t understand me?”

“What do you mean, Love?”

“What if they think I’m faking or they call me names?”

“Like how your brother used to call you retarded?”

“Yeah.”

Alicia looked up and saw that Althea had her eyes trained at the floor, flapping her hands and wiggling her fingers. She knew her girlfriend was scared, and she felt horrible that she felt that way. Al had a mostly supportive family growing up. Her parents, older sister, younger sister and younger brother were patient and understanding of her sensory issues and stims. Her older brother however, didn’t like them. He told Al that she was an embarrassment and he called her retarded more times than she can remember. He also yelled at her to stop her stimming, even if she was doing it at home with nobody but the family to see.

“If anyone in our group has a problem with you and how you function, I’ll just kill them. And then you and I will leave and find a different, more accepting place to call our home. I will never let anyone make you feel like you’re inferior.”

“Thank you.” Al murmured, still not making eye contact.

“How about you go on up to our room and I’ll join you in a few minutes hmm?” Alicia asked, brushing a stray hair out of Al’s face. She pressed a kiss to the girl’s forehead and smiled when Al got up and left the kitchen, lightly flapping her hands as she did so.

Alicia smiled at the sight in front of her.

“That’s my girl.” She whispered to herself, before taking her plate to the sink and washing it, before going upstairs to be with Althea.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, thank you for reading! I'll see you all soon!


End file.
